Father of the Bride Speech

Being the bride’s father can be very overwhelming, since this position implies a lot of responsabilities, especially if you and your wife (the bride’s mom) are the ones who organize your daughter’s wedding, as the wedding protocol from many cultures and regions provides. If you are the host of the party that celebrates your daughter’s union, then it’s almost mandatory to deliver the first speech, i.e. the father of the bride speech, at the reception. This article deals with the content of such an oration. More precisely, this post presents, in its first section, the most important ideas that ought to be covered in your wedding toast. In the second (which is also the last) section of this article, you will find three of the most helpful tips regarding the text of such a speech.

Structure of the Father of the Bride Wedding Speeches

The famous three-sections structure of the short literary texts that every pupil has to write (on a certain subject) as homeworks for the high school classes must be followed even by the wedding speeches. Father of the bride ought to respect this simple rule, which states that the oration that he delivers at his daughter’s wedding should have a generous middle section (usually known as the oration’s body), that must be enclosed by two much smaller sections: an introduction, which precedes the body and opens the oration, and an ending, that follows the body and finishes the oration.

Now that I revealed the recommended “intro-body-ending” format that any wedding toast should have, let’s see what should be included in each of the three parts of this format. As can be seen in the numerous bride’s father speech examples and templates provided by the resource on this webpage, the intro of any toast offered by a man at his daughter’s wedding reception ought to contain the following data: an introduction of yourself (unless you are presented to your audience prior to beginning your toast, it’s recommended to tell the attendees that you are the bride’s father), a warm (or at least friendly) welcoming for the wedding guests and some friendly thankings for the participants, for their decision to join you and your family in this important moment of your life: your daughter’s wedding.

You may commence your oration in various ways. For example, one of the most polite methods of beginning the father of bride speech and, in fact, any kind of speech, is by greeting the audience. It’s also important to know that there isn’t only one way of presenting yourself to the audience; more precisely, if you don’t like the straightforward manner, in which you simply say, somewhere in the introduction: “I am the bride’s dad”, there’s no problem, because you can inform your listeners about your identity also in an indirect manner, e.g. “Welcome to the reception celebrating my daughter’s wedding!”.

We got to the main section of this type of orations, i.e. the body of the father of the bride speech template. The topics that are most appropriate for this part of the toast are these: compliments for the groom (who is your daughter’s husband and your new son-in-law) and welcomings for him and his parents for joining your family, congratulations for your daughter, that is the bride, for becoming the wife of such a wonderful man, compliments for your daughter and a description of her (this is a perfect occasion for adding a touch of humor to your oration, by telling some amusing scenes from her childhood, without upsetting her, of course), as well as some tips for a happy and peaceful marital life.

The father of bride speeches, more precisely their main parts, can also contain some information about the relationship of the newlyweds, if you get their approval, of course. For instance, you can mention how and where they met initially, and even how you met the groom, and maybe some funny scenes from their courtship. The ending of such a wedding speech ought to contain blessings for your daughter and her spouse. A toast proposal (for the bride and the bridegroom) is the best method of ending your oration.

3 Secrets of a Perfect Father of the Bride Speech

There are some secrets regarding the content, that is the text, of the toasts delivered by the brides’ dads that make this type of orations really successful. These secrets can be noticed also in the speeches examples that can be found on this website (more exactly, in the resource displayed on this webpage). You can discover these secrets if you watch and listen with a lot of care the professional and successful public speakers, while they deliver their orations.

The first secret of the perfect speeches of this type is that they are short. The success of the short wedding speeches is partially determined by the fact that they don’t bore the audience. The main purpose for which the guests come to a party is to have a lot of fun, not to listen to endless orations. The bride’s father toasts ought to last between three and five minutes. You can exceed, of course, the limit of five minutes and still have a successful speech, only if the content of your oration succeeds in keeping the audience’s attention.

The second secret of an excellent speech offered by the bride’s dad is to have a principal subject, which should be indicated in the opening section, dealt with in the main part and summarized in the last section. The third secret concerning the content of the successful wedding speeches is represented by the simplicity. This simplicity refers to both the language and the gestures and moves used while delivering the father of the bride speech. If you want to win your audience’s appreciation, you must be natural while speaking. Avoid the magniloquent style, by using your own words. The naturalness and the simplicity must characterize not onyl the way you speak, but also the way you move and look at the wedding guests.